New liquor laws in place

New liquor laws in place

Tough new liquor sales laws and pub and bar door restrictions are now in place across inner Sydney party spots.

The NSW government’s promised 3am last drinks and 1.30am lockouts for CBD and Kings Cross licensed premises came into effect at 12.01am on Monday.

A statewide ban on takeaway alcohol sales after 10pm is also in place.

Hospitality Minister George Souris says the introduction went smoothly.

‘‘I haven’t had one report,’’ he told ABC Radio on Monday morning.

The new laws will undergo their first big test this Saturday, as the Mardi Gras parade brings hundreds of thousands of people to inner city streets.

Mr Souris said he understood concerns the new lockouts would prompt late-night migrations to city fringe suburbs but said the system was flexible and boundaries would be tweaked if necessary.

‘‘I think it’s warranted but the area that we’re talking about, the Sydney entertainment district, the CBD including Kings Cross and so on, is a very, very large area,’’ he told the ABC.

When a similar regime of lockouts and last drinks were introduced in Newcastle, he said, ‘‘there wasn’t that venue-morphing going on’’ between the restricted city premises and pubs and clubs in nearby Hamilton.

‘‘I’m pretty sure most people will get the message and I just ask people to be more compliant generally in their nature, to understand the new emphasis this puts on personal responsibility,’’ Mr Souris said.

There are about 1300 licensed premises within the designated Sydney precinct but some are exempt from the new restrictions.